Conversation class
Lesson plan: Meetings
Most meetings have an agenda - a list of matters to be discussed in the meeting.
When you decide what to talk about in the meeting, you 'set the agenda'. The person in
charge of the setting the agenda and running the meeting is the 'chairperson'
Warm up
How often do you have to attend meetings?
Have you ever been the chair of a meeting?
What are the qualities of a good chairperson?
What are the qualities of a good participant?
How can meetings be run effectively?
What things shouldn’t you do in a meeting?
What are the most common problems you experienced in a meeting?
Have you ever attended an online or telephone meeting?
What problem did you have?
Slide
Think
Imagine that you are the chairperson in a meeting. It is the start of the meeting and you
are telling your colleagues about the items on the agenda. What phrases might you
use?
Listen
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/
talkingbusiness/mp3s/2.1_agenda.mp3
Now you're going to listen to two audio clips about setting agendas for meetings. Both
clips are from the start of meetings and feature a chairperson listing the points on the
agenda. As you listen, see if you can hear some of the phrases above.
1. Sarah: Right then, Alex, let's get down to business. On the agenda today for our
public relations meeting are the research project, the launch of the website, the timeline
for press releases, and the executary of the year award. Are you quite happy with
those points?
Alex: Yeah, that's fine. If you could go through them in order, that'd be great.
2. Alex: OK everybody, thanks for coming. Let's keep this meeting fairly brief,
really just a couple of things on the agenda. First of all, as you can see, the news on
the book re-launch; and secondly, the office move; and finally, we'll have a little bit of
time for any other business.
Slide
Meetings: Agreeing and Disagreeing
Inevitably, people will agree and disagree with one another during meetings. It’s
important to make your position in a debate clear, while being polite to people you
disagree with.
Slide
Think
Imagine that you are in a meeting and you disagree with someone over an issue. How
might you make your point politely?
General Topics for Discussion or Speeches
Go over the topics below and get a students to agree or disagree with the topics using
sentences in the slide.
English is easy to learn.
Money is more important than love.
Students should be required to study English in elementary school.
Violence is sometimes necessary.
Personality is more important than beauty.
People who live in apartments shouldn’t own pets.
No job is perfect.
Everyone is good at something.
We are not alone in the universe.
Life was better 20 years ago.
The most important thing about a job is the salary.
You can know a lot about a person from the clothes he or she wears.
Teachers should be able to use physical punishment.
Global warming isn’t real.
There are actions we can take to stop global warming.
There are no such things as ghosts.
Everyone has the right to have an opinion even if the opinion is false according
to well-known facts.
People get offended too easily nowadays.
What goes around comes around. (If you do good, good will come to you / If
you do bad, bad things will happen to you.)
Parents should never hit their children.
Table manners and etiquette have become less important in the 21st century.
Slide
Link for student part:
https://www.linguahouse.com/it/esl-lesson-plans/business-english/
discussions/worksheet/intermediate/american-english/0/1/discussions-american-
english-intermediate-group.pdf
Listening
1.
https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/business-english/discussions/
audioplayer/ex2amp3
Read the questions and answers below. Then, listen to an extract from a discussion
about a company's financial situation. Choose the best answer for each question.
1. What problem is the company facing?
a. clients are paying late
b. clients are buying from a cheaper competitor
c. employees want higher salaries
2. Which of the measures below does the speaker NOT propose?
a. imposing penalties b. hiring a credit controller c. offering cheaper prices
3. According to the speaker, it's possible that the company's clients will find the
proposed measures ...
a. rather strict b. acceptable c. flexible
4. Why does the speaker think that clients will probably accept the proposed measures
in the end?
a. they have no choice
b. they have good relationships with the company
c. competitors are more expensive
Now listen to a discussion on the prison system and do the same
2.
https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/business-english/discussions/
audioplayer/ex2bmp3
1. What problem is the speaker discussing?
a. too many people are sent to prison b. not enough criminals are sent to prison
2. After they are released, most ex-prisoners ...
a. stop committing crimes b. continue to commit crimes
3. According to the speaker, teenagers should be given ...
a. lighter punishments b. longer sentences c. more entertainment
4. People who commit very serious crimes should ...
a. stay in prison for the maximum period of time b. receive education and training
Structuring an argument
Read the two discussions and study how the underlined words and expressions are
used to structure the arguments:
The underlined words and expressions serve different functions. Study the table on the
next page.
Introducing a new topic:
As regards (our cash flow situation), regarding (very serious crimes),
Giving or adding a new point:
In the first place, What's more, In addition,
Describing a general situation:
On the whole,
Giving an example:
For example, For instance,
Introducing a contrasting idea:
However, Although
Modifying a previous statement:
In fact,
Simplifying a previous point:
In other words,
Supporting a previous point:
After all,
Introducing the logical result of a situation:
Therefore,
Add the following expressions to the table:
As far as .... is/are concerned
In short
Overall
Firstly
Actually
despite this
Additionally
As a result
In general
Now complete the following discussion with suitable words and expressions:
Agreeing and desagreeing
Complete the table with the following expressions:
Absolutely!
I'd go along with that.
I'm not sure about that.
That might be true, but ...
You must be joking!
I absolutely disagree.
I'm afraid, I don't really agree.
I totally agree with you.
Yes, you're right.
You're right to a certain extent, but ...
STRONG AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT
I agree.
PARTIAL AGREEMENT
I agree with you up to a point, but ...
DISAGREEMENT / STRONG DISAGREEMENT
In pairs, agree or disagree to the following opinions using expressions from this
exercise:
1. Outsourcing is a good thing for companies and economies.
2. Smoking should be banned everywhere.
3. The best way to learn a language is to live in the country where it is spoken.
4. If you want to get a good job, experience and qualifications are very important.
5. You can never trust salesmen.
6. It is easier to speak English on the phone than face-to-face.
7. People who drink and drive should receive lighter punishments.
8. Spam is irritating.
9. If you want to be a successful businessman, you need to be born with certain
character traits.
10. You should never mix business with pleasure.
Work in small groups. Choose a topic from the list below. Have a discussion and
respond to opinions using expressions from this lesson.
1. The efficiency of the public transport system in your town.
2. The most effective way to attract new customers.
3. The best ways for people and governments to deal with the financial crisis.
4. The advantages/disadvantages of using mobile phones on planes.
5. The advantages/disadvantages of budget airlines.
6. The importance of doing business in English.
